hacking

I freely admit I have been quite lax when it comes to certain things & the internet. I have some very secure passwords that I use, but I tend to reuse them because they are secure! For a while now I have been working towards becoming a website developer, front and back end. That process continues, but it has been part of the process that the old way of dealing with passwords is no longer viable. And making sure the passwords I use will actually stop a person gaining entry to the site I am trying to protect.

My initial intention was to just pick a password manager that works well and there you go all done. I am kind of like that, rush to get it sorted type. When it comes to certain types of software I either will be patient or I won’t; let me explain!

I am mostly on a mac or Linux so I don’t use virus software, but because of the nature of virus software (protect my system) I expect it to work, from the get go! I shouldn’t have to trouble shoot it on the installation, it’s a trust thing!

So I am checking out some password managers, 1password & Lastpass, I will give a review after a few weeks testing them. There is a bit of a learning curve as I already have Key Chain on my mac and at work I use chrome which already do a great job remembering passwords. The difference is that a password manager will stop or try to dissuade you from reusing the same password all the time. Let you know when it’s weak aka dogs name! And they have a password generator that creates strong passwords.

Although both password managers I am looking at have their differences I do trust they are both fairly secure. Nothing is completely secure but the chances of them being hacked are slim to almost none. Which leaves me to consider install and ease of use, there is also a price difference which I will take into consideration.

Regardless of what I am doing if you don’t use a password manager you should consider it in this day and age, even if you just used it for your financial websites. It pays to have the extra layer of security these days.

I work in the security business, I also deal with other aspects of security in regards to the internet. This means bad bots & malware and privacy are things I focus on often.
I try to keep myself informed in regards to data and where it’s going these days, not just the general stupidity of Facebook. But also what will be the deal now that AI is taking over much more of the daily grind when it comes to pretty much anything online.
Google Duplex Demo:

It’s apparent that AI, machine learning is moving ahead in leaps and bounds. The world moves on and even though our fool of a president eliminates the cyber security department to allow his Russian friends to do their stuff unimpeded.
It’s still an issue that I want the people who can make our data safe as possible are in fact doing so?
The internet as you probably know is or has for a while been moving to mobile. Google ranks websites on not only loading times, security certificates, but also if the work on mobile devices. malware on mobile has increase and so has robocalls.
If you are interested on checking what google has on you they are fairly open and transparent about it. go here Google sign in and check your stuff.

For Apple go to Apple’s Privacy Policy page: (https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/en-ww/)
Scroll down to the section titled “Access to Personal Information.” It’s worth reading and says explains that Apple will provide you with a copy of the information it holds if you request it.
Click the “Privacy Contact Form” link.
Choose your language.
Select “I have a question about privacy issues” from the drop-down box.
Fill in your first and last name, email, subject and comments.
Click submit.

Apple is much better with privacy, and Google is transparent, for Facebook we are just a commodity so don’t be surprised!
As for the future, if we can get passed the sharing our lives on the web without thinking about the consequences of how and what we share. AI will I think come to the rescue as computer systems can be taught to defend us.
AI will also be used to attack our systems and learn from it’s mistakes at speeds we can only imagine.
If I seem to contradict myself it’s because we are probably going to see both. To win we will have to take out the players, in the same way servers are taken when dark web actors are arrested these days.
I have a Facebook account, and I believe that Facebook learned a lesson after Trump won. You have a responsibility to the people who provide you with their data as much as you do to the companies you allow us the data to make money. I personally think Facebooks biggest mistake was the new Feed, Facebook isn’t a news source, it’s a social network, it takes no responsibility for the news it shares on it’s feeds. When legitimate news sites are not trusted and Facebook is we have a serious problem.
Our Data whether we like it or not is a commodity, and we should treat it as such. This feels like we are moving into Black Mirror territory!

How can I be Hacked?

In my opinion.

As a society we talk about government and social media and our privacy. This is a conversation worth having, but the point has been missed when the people using the internet put their lives on the web, including much more personal information than they realize.

First remember that to social media companies we are not the customer, we are the product for sale, and in order to get the most money from us they must know as much as possible so we can be sold effectively. This includes our location, family, friends, work location and contacts, pictures, race, gender, social interests, shopping history.

Do you feel any part of that list is private, it’s not once you send it to the internet. It’s not that Facebook, LinkedIn, or any other social media company are bad or trying to get you in trouble. They say they keep our data safe and that’s fine, that isn’t the only issue. It’s the things we choose to place on these sites willingly that we don’t realize can be used by hackers, pieces of a puzzle, and we the consumer give out the crumbs for those who have the knowledge to look and put the puzzle together. The threat isn’t from direct selling of your information, which will be done anyway! It’s the marketing sites that keep tabs on your internet browsing, shopping, and this information is moved about the web from one interested party to another. It’s said that the only thing sold is metadata, that they really don’t know who you are, crap! Sorry to tell you but if someone with the right knowledge and tools wants to find you it’s not as difficult as you would think.

There are ways to make it harder to be found on the internet, but social media probably isn’t the best we to achieve that. Yes we live in a world now that it’s normal to have a digital self, but remember to place a barrier between personal information and personal interaction. Use the rule that if you have two pieces of information on a social media site you can be identified, be careful what you post (on vacation for two weeks and the jewels are in the brown box)! Use encrypted messaging for personal conversation, iMessage is great if your on IOS, if you’re on Android there are services you can use, but your phone messaging service is not secure so avoid personal information. Facebook and other services may say they look after your information, but remember you are the product so you are being tapped for usage. Enjoy and be safe.